


Video Games have Nothing On This

by allhailgrilledcheesus



Series: Rhack One-Shots [3]
Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Established Relationship, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Surprises, alcohol mention, i based this off of a scene in brooklyn 99
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 08:30:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5960863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allhailgrilledcheesus/pseuds/allhailgrilledcheesus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys has been beaten down all week at work. Vaughn decides that he needs to let his hair down and go out, but not everything is what it seems...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Video Games have Nothing On This

**Author's Note:**

> Look, more fluff! This is all I can write I'm sorry...

The door slammed shut behind Rhys as he stormed into his shared apartment. Vaughn jumped slightly at the sudden intrusion. It was several hours past the time that Rhys was due home and Vaughn was just starting to get worried as to when his best friend was going to get home. Rhys’s tie was already in his hands as the lanky man huffed and threw himself on the sofa, causing Vaughn, who was sitting on the opposite end, to be moved slightly by the moving cushions. 

“Bad day, huh?” Vaughn was tentative around his friend, unsure of how to approach his friend when he’s in a mood like this. 

As if in response, Rhys stood up off the sofa, rushed to his bedroom, and returned with a pair of shorts and a well-worn hyperion t-shirt on. Vaughn took this to mean that the day didn’t go amazingly. 

“Vasquez?” 

“Ugh…”

Rhys had been harassed by his boss all that week, and he was ready to just order take out and play video-games until dawn. It may not be the healthiest coping mechanism but it was the one that made him feel the best afterwards. He bought up the menu for the cheapest Chinese takeout on Helios on the holo-screen on his robotic hand. Being expensive, In Rhys’s mind, was not synonymous with being good. Cheap food and tonnes of it was more valuable to the cybernetic man than something was was extortionately expensive and only took him two mouthfuls to eat. 

“Vaughn, I need to murder something.”

“You’re sounding more and more like Jack everyday” Vaughn smirked. 

“Not in… Vaughn, just let me say things about games without you comparing me to Jack. Is that really too much to ask?” 

“It is and you know it is!” Vaughn laughed and punched his friend in the shoulder. Rhys pouted and continued scrolling through the menu. 

Vaughn suddenly stood up, and dragged his moping friend with him. 

“C’mon, bro, we’re going out!” Vaughn moved behind Rhys to push him towards the taller man’s bedroom. 

“Wha-? Out? Vaughn I don’t want to - Argh!” Rhys was forcibly pushed into the room, nearly falling over. 

“Get changed. No excuses! We are going out to dance and drink your sorrows away!” Vaughn clapped his hands together and walked towards his own room, slamming the door shut behind him. 

Rhys was shocked at first, Vaughn was usually the one to not want to go out, protesting and complaining until he had several drinks in him. Then, it was nigh on impossible to get him out of a club, even if the place was closing. 

Deciding that this was a rare occasion, Rhys decided to roll with it. Pulling on something simple and classy, just a black button up and some plain slacks. It was something that he knew he could look decent in but not miss if it got ruined in a club, as was far too often the case with the clubs on Helios. 

By the time Rhys was ready, Vaughn was waiting for him, bouncing on his heels and playing with his ECHO device. 

“You ready?” 

“As I’ll ever be!” Rhys smiled through the slight discomfort. He was still feeling a bit down after the day that he had had, but at it would take would be a few long island iced teas and he would be perfectly fine for the rest of the night. 

They started making their way towards the Hub of Heroism, with Vaughn slightly in front of Rhys, seemingly looking for someone. Rhys was just walking lost in his own thoughts. There was once a time where he was in awe of Helios and the view it had of the planet below. Now, he was disenchanted with the whole affair. He would still admit that it was beautiful, but it was just his ‘normal’ now. 

Rhys stopped outside the pair’s favourite club, but Vaughn kept walking, leaving Rhys confused by the line outside. 

“Bro? What’s happening?” 

“Well… You haven’t eaten, have you? We can go get food first, right?” Vaughn rushed through his words, pushing his glasses back up his nose and ran a hand through his hair. 

“I can get food in here. I’m OK with crappy bar nachos!” 

“We should really go get you proper food, though. Remember what happened last time you drank on an empty stomach?” 

Rhys shuddered at the memory. Well, technically lack of memory of that night. All he remembers is the worst hangover of his life and Vaughn shoving him some bleach and pushing him towards the bathroom. It was the most unpleasant day of his life on Helios so far. 

“You do realise that bar food still counts as _food_ right?” Rhys crossed his arms in defiance, his smug expression showing that he felt as if he had one this little spat. 

Vaughn ran a hand over the lower half of his face, exasperation setting in. 

“Look, Yvette is meeting us at a restaurant because I lost a bet and I owe her dinner now…”

Rhys let out a huffed laugh, “Is this why you’re being so shifty? Why didn’t you just say?” 

“My pride was hurt,” Vaughn pouted, “and I didn’t want to admit my loss, OK?” 

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Rhys punched his friend in the arm and set off following Vaughn. 

For reasonably late on a Friday night, the restaurant that Vaughn had walked up too seemed eerily quiet. It also looked painfully expensive. As in, _I spend my month’s paycheck to even look at the food here_ kind of expensive. Rhys was confused, but if Vaughn wanted to pay this much for food, so be it. 

 

The pair arrived at the door and Vaughn opened it for Rhys with a slight dip. Rhys played along and bowed his head slightly to the amusement of the pair. Rhys stepped past him into… an empty restaurant. 

Rhys turned around, confused for the umpteenth time that night, to try and ask his friend what was going on, only to find that Vaughn was not there. Rhys started to panic. Why the hell was he in an empty restaurant all on his own? Why had Vaughn left him there? Where was Yvette? Didn’t Vaughn owe Yvette food? 

A cough from one of the booths caused Rhys to snap out of his rumination. Curiosity got the better of him and, despite his fear, he cautiously approached the booth. 

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as the person in the booth came into focus. Jack was sitting there, his countenance the epitome of self-satisfaction. He was sat in the middle of the seat, arms spread across the top and ankle on his knee. He looked like he owned the place. Well, he technically did, but it was more the general aura that the man seemed to exude. Rhys slid in the opposite side of the booth, taking up significantly less room despite the fact that he was practically the same height as the man opposite him. 

“Hey pumpkin, like your surprise?”

“I - Well, yes I do. However, I would appreciate it more if you don’t do it as ominously next time…”

Jack laughed. It was hearty and full, a noise Rhys didn’t hear very often but when he did, it made his heart melt. 

“Ominous? Oh, kiddo I wasn’t trying to be! You know I have a flair for the dramatic!” 

Rhys pouted, his usual expression nowadays. This man was the best and the worst simultaneously and he didn’t know how he managed to walk that fine line so well. 

“Yes, well, I would also appreciate it if you didn’t scare my roommate into helping you with your _schemes_ ,” Rhys commented. Vaughn’s sketchy behaviour was suddenly making sense. If Rhys had his life threatened, he would be acting the same way. 

“Nah, this was all Vaughn’s idea. He said that Wallet Head was piling on the work hardcore and thought that you deserved a break. Normally, I would just airlock the guy. However, he’s annoyingly good at what he does…” Jack continued his thought by mumbling under his breath. 

Rhys blushed and giggled. It was cute to see Jack this protective. He wasn’t one for outright displays of emotion so this was his own way of showing Rhys how much the cybernetic man means to him. 

“Jack,” the man’s head snapped up again, two pairs of mismatched eyes met, “this is lovely.” 

Rhys stretched out his organic hand towards his boyfriend. Jack took it and squeezed. It was nights like this that reminded Rhys of why he loved the man sitting in front of him. He was the CEO of the most feared company in the galaxy, but he still made time for Rhys to make plans like these. 

“I know. I’m great aren’t I?” Jack smiled his hero’s smile and squeezed the hand in his. “This is not as lovely at that ass of your’s though, which is gonna be _ruined_ after tonight it over.” Jack winked to punctuate the end of his sentence. 

Rhys withdrew his hand in fake disgust, “Now look! You’ve ruined the mood!” 

“Aw c’mon! You knew what you were getting into when you sat down tonight…” Jack grabbed Rhys’s chin and pulled him into a small, chaste kiss across the table. Rhys couldn’t argue with that logic, and let himself relax. Tonight was going to be good, despite the fact that he missed out on getting drunk and going dancing. This was a million times better.

**Author's Note:**

> May not be writing rhack for a while due to some stuff I've seen on tumblr making me uncomfortable about this ship. 
> 
> Find me on tumblr if you like this: iwritesjinsnottradgedies.tumblr.com


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